As is well known, trucks are normally positioned in a parking area formed in front of an elevated dock, which dock is at an elevation similar to that of the truck bed, to facilitate loading or unloading of the truck. With this arrangement, the loading or unloading of the truck is normally carried out by utilization of operator-controlled motorized equipment, the most conventional form of which is a forklift. Even though this arrangement has been utilized for many years, nevertheless serious accidents still occur due to the forklift being driven off the dock, which accidents normally result in serious and often fatal injuries to the forklift operator. Many of these accidents occur due to the truck being driven away from the dock at the moment when the forklift operator is attempting to drive between the dock and the truck bed. The possibility of such an accident occurring is greatly increased due to the limited visibility experienced by the operator when a large load is positioned on the forklift. These accidents are obviously undesirable not only due to the extremely serious injuries to the operator, but they also expose the dock owner and/or the trucking company to severe financial expenditures for insurance and/or damages.
In recognition of the severity of this problem, the federal government has in recent years imposed new regulations which require that all loading docks be provided with a wheel chock located within the truck parking area, which wheel chock when positioned in wedging engagement with the rear truck tire prevents the truck from being driven away from the dock. However, even though the chock is readily available, it has been observed that many truck drivers fail to utilize the chock, either accidentally or due to the additional inconvenience caused thereby. Since the forklift operator often does not know if the wheel chock is in position, or if it has been removed, accidents of the above-mentioned type continue to occur.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safety apparatus for use in conjunction with a loading dock so as to substantially prevent, or at least greatly reduce, accidents of the above-mentioned type. More specifically, the safety apparatus of the present invention includes a swingable gate positioned on and extending across the dock, which gate is movable upwardly into an open position only when a sensor disposed within the truck parking area indicates the presence of a truck positioned adjacent the dock.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety apparatus, as aforesaid, which in a preferred embodiment provides a sensor positioned within the wheel chock and activated only when the chock is properly positioned in wedging engagement with a truck tire, thereby insuring that the gate will be opened only when the truck is adjacent the dock and the chock is engaged with the tire. Release of the sensor, due to movement of the chock out of engagement with the tire causes the gate to automatically return to its closed position wherein it extends across the dock so as to prevent access into the truck.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved safety apparatus, as aforesaid, which not only provides a more readily visible indication to the forklift operator as to the existence of the truck adjacent the dock for loading or unloading thereof, but also provides a visible indication to the operator as to the location of the edge of the dock (even when a truck is not located thereagainst) so as to prevent the operator from accidentally driving the forklift off the dock.